“And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.

“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:1-4.

“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets”, indeed God spoke to many, even before the flood of Noah.

Speaking of the godless men who will inhabit the end times Enoch prophesied this.

“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied [before the flood] about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’” Jude 14-15.

However, it is not just the prophets and kings whom we are so familiar with, the entire Bible falls into ten different categories.

Five in the Old Testament are: Law, the first five books of Moses, Genesis to Deuteronomy.

History extends from Joshua to Esther, twelve books.

Poetry includes what is considered the oldest narrative in Scripture, Job, through the Song of Solomon, five books.

Major Prophets, five books, Isaiah to Daniel; Minor Prophets extend from Hosea to Malachi, twelve books.

The New Testament divides into five segments: the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

History consists of only one book, the book of Acts.

The Pauline Epistles, letters of the Apostle Paul, consist of fourteen books which are Romans through Hebrews, although authorship of the book of Hebrews is questioned by some.

The General category continues from James through Jude, seven books in all.

Prophecy, although there are many prophesies throughout the New Testament (and the Old Testament) there is only one whole book in this genre, Revelation, the last book in the Bible.

Sixty-six books penned by about forty different authors from approximately 1400 B.C. to 90 A.D. A period of some 1490 years.

God not only spoke to Israel’s forefathers by prophets and Scripture, but He speaks to us today through His word the Bible.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

This word is for all of us, and the intention is as above, that we may be complete and trained for any and all good works.

It cannot be stressed enough how important the word of God is to you personally; if it were not so then the Bible would be a small book indeed. After all what more do you need to know than this one verse below?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

This verse, often called the gospel in a nutshell, is all that an open heart needs to gain eternal salvation.

After John 3:16, Scripture gives us the following words of comfort.

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14.

God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within your heart upon salvation, but it is not just to seal us.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-16.

There you have it, “we have the mind of Christ”; if we have the Spirit what need have we of Scripture beyond the above verses? Why have folks given their lives, even been tortured to death for such a large book?

The answer is simple, contrary to popular belief, God does not want Christians to be a bunch of drones who mouth church teachings mindlessly; rather, He holds each of us responsible to know Him as He is revealed in the Bible, and to be able to rightly divide the word of truth therein.

“… [these things are written that your] hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3.

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8.

If you are a Christian, you need to study your Bible to learn what the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge are. I assure you there is more than you can gather in a lifetime.

If you are not a Christian, you need to read the New Testament to know what you are rejecting; do not take the word of someone else!

A word of advice, many people do not read for one reason or another; whether their eyes or ability to read are poor, or if they are the type who gets antsy from sitting around too long the Bible should not be neglected.

Buy the Bible on tape or CD and listen to it while gardening, driving in congested commuter traffic or on long trips, whenever it can be done safely, or at home when nothing will distract you from hearing God’s word.

Do something my friend, study your Bible; your eternal reward will be much greater if you just do this one thing prayerfully.

“… [God the Father] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…” Hebrews 1:2.

The last days spoken of here extend from Christ’s incarnation to His return to rule the world.

It seems strange that God the Father would appoint Jesus, the Son, who was with the Father from eternity past as heir of all things when Jesus already owns all things because all things were created through Him.

Among other things the idea is to show that the Son is not only Creator but an heir of all things through birth, giving Him preeminence over the sons of men also.

This authority would be necessary to legitimize His return to reign as King over the whole earth; bearing in mind that Jesus wrested the authority over the earth from the devil in His temptation in the wilderness.

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” Matthew 4:8-11.

Satan’s ownership becomes even clearer when this passage is shown in the book of Luke.

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’” Luke 4:5-8.

Satan makes the statement, “… for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Jesus does not argue with him, indicating that Satan’s statement is true.

It is true because the Devil had earlier taken authority over the earth from men when he beat Adam in a terrestrial poker game by causing him to sin in the Garden of Eden. He cheated by the way.

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan, through the serpent] said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:1-6.

Adam had the right to gamble the world away because it was given to him by God after He created him.

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26.

God gave authority over the earth to mankind. Satan won that authority away from mankind, and Jesus won the world back from Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness.

Jesus has rightfully won back the world as a Man and is now awaiting the time of His return as the rightful ruler of this earth.

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15.

God did not stand outside His creation and say to men you must do thus and such; rather He rolled up His sleeves and stepped into this world and accomplished for mankind what he could not do for himself.

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man [Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified [set apart].” Hebrews 10:11-14.

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord [Jesus], and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” Hebrews 2:1-4.

The Word Became Flesh, Part 1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 11-12-15, updated on 12-22-23 ck.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.